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Journey to Northwest Salta & Calchaqui Valleys

Before travelling Links Contact	Journey to Northwest Salta & Calchaqui Valleys (4 Days / 3 Nights) Salta
	US$ 5.339 € 4.058 (per person - Taxes included)

© Looms Salta Argentina by Girovai.com

 

Steeped in culture and tradition, the northwest is the most historic and colourful region in Argentina. From the fertile green valleys to the high deserts dotted with giant cactus, prehispanic cultures carry on in music, crafts, and festivals. Across the high and lonely stretches of La Puna you will find indigenous people who still herd their llamas, goats and donkeys on the paths their Inca ancestors used 500 years ago.

We have thought this experience as an ideal example of what can be done in the region. However, our idea is to adapt each proposal to the traveler’s specific needs. We are, therefore, willing to make all the necessary modifications and re quote it according to your interests.

TRAVEL LOG

Day 1: Salta

© La Merced del Alto Cafayate Salta. All rights reserved.

 

You will be met upon arrival at Salta Airport. This scenic road trip to one of the country’s main wine growing regions, takes you along the beautiful serene valley of Cafayate, visiting a boutique winery. While taking in the contrast of green fertile valleys and wild desert country. You will travel south of Salta through the fertile Lerma Valley, today an important tobacco growing area, which was used in the 17th and 18th centuries as winter pasture land for the mules and cattle. As you travel up the winding road along the banks of the River Las Conchas, you will come across amazing mountainous shapes made of brightly colour sandstone deposited in the Tertiary Period, some 60 million years ago, such as the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) and the Amphitheatre, huge open cracks in the earth, where one can hear the perfect echo of any sound. Gradually, the arid countryside turns into a green valley dotted with extensive vineyards, as you approach the town of Cafayate. Cafayate has its own distinct colours, pink dust, red hills, and olive-green mountains. Corn-yellow sand gathers along the curb stones of this sun kissed village, while donkeys graze on the central plaza, and heaps of unlocked bicycles stand outside schools and the coffee-coloured cathedral. Viñas de Cafayate Wine Resort is an excellent get away for those looking for something different. The lodge is a great base for exploring the area. Overnight at Viñas de Cafayate in Salta.

© Wine Production in Argentina high by Girovai.com

 

Day 2: Salta

Breakfast. As you leave behind the Cafayate region, the vineyards give way to the desert. You will drive along the legendary National Route #40 crossing the Calchaqui Valleys along alluring sceneries; cactus-dotted scrubland and desolate grey moonscapes mutating into red-rock cliffs. Traverse a stretch of 53km of amazing beauty called the Quebrada de las Flechas (Arrows), remarkable for its formations and colours, named after the narrow-shaped rocks found. Do not miss the restored 18th-century adobe church in Molinos and NGO San Pedro Nolasco de los Molinos, which raises vicuñas and an association of local artisans sell there fine crafts there. A special treat will be lunch at San Pedro de Yacochuya Winery. San Pedro de Yacochuya vineyards grows at a height of over 2,000 metres in the Calchaqui Valleys with the expertise of one of the best oenologists in the world, Michel Rolland, they have accomplished creating two of the sublime red wines in the country: the San Pedro de Yacochuya, Malbec with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, and the premium Yacochuya. At the foot of the Nevado de Cachi, La Merced del Alto dominates over the breathtaking valley, surrounded by idyllic hills, river and streams. Wide interior patios and arcades will make you feel you are in a bygone colonial era, and accompanied with a personalised service, the outcome in an unforgettable experience. Every of the 14 rooms in this quaint two-storey hotel offers lovely views of the surrounding open countryside and the background mountains. The Andean-influenced restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and its wine cellar is stocked with some of the best labels in Argentina. Overnight at La Merced del Alto, in Cachi, Salta.

Day 3: Salta

© Cuesta Obispo Salta Argentina. All rights reserved.

 

Breakfast at the hotel. An adventurous drive passing through the quaint village of Payogasta, the viewpoint Piedra del Molino (3,348 metres above the sea level) and the Cuesta del Obispo Pass, a dramatic 12½-mile-long cliff-edge dirt road over the rippling Obispo Mountains that peaks among the condors and giant cactus of Los Cardones National Park. You shall traverse Los Cardones National Park and turn southwards towards Seclantás. In this small village artisans continue to produce the famous, traditional hand woven Ponchos de Guemes, in red and black, made of fine wool and carried over the shoulders of proud gauchos. In the lonely Enchanted Valley, one feels that time has stood still, trapped between the red colour mountains blanketed by wildflowers in spring and summer, and patrolled by that sovereign bird of the heights, the condor soaring as high at 9,000 ft. You shall continue towards the Quebrada de Escoipe, also called the "three-colour" gorge because of its red earth and green hills in contrast with the blue sky; and finally to the tobacco plantations of the Lerma Valley. Legado Mitico boutique hotel is located in the historic quarter of Salta - just five blocks from the landmark Square 9 de Julio and the commercial and financial area. The inn is housed in an old mansion that has been skillfully restored to a lovely 11 room boutique hotel, which treat guests with indulging comfort, all bearing the name or stamp of a remarkable figure, or of a native people of the territory of Salta. Overnight stay.
Dinner may we suggested at La Vieja Estación for an authentic and regional meal with live local music.

© A Church of San Francisco. All rights reserved.

 

Day 4: Salta

© Baby Vicuña in Argentina Salta route by Girovai.com

 

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Salta airport.

Fare per person on double basis
USD 5.339 Taxes included

Rates valid during season 2014.
Rates subject to the variations of the market.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PRICES INCLUDE

• 1 night accommodation at Viñas de Cafayate
• 1 night accommodation at La Merced del Alto
• 1 night accommodation at Legado Mítico
• Breakfast
• Arrival and departure transfers: Salta Airport / Hotel / Salta Airport

PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE

• Personal insurance
• Tips for drivers and/or guide
• Any item not mentioned in the itinerary
• Additional night

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